What does 5/3/1 mean in training?

The name reflects the repetition targets in the classic third loading week: five, three and at least one repetition. The full system also includes a Training Max, several loading weeks, gradual progression and suitable assistance work.

How do you calculate a Training Max?

A Training Max is a deliberately submaximal working value. Classic versions often use 90 per cent of a realistic 1RM, while newer or specialised Wendler templates may use 85 or 80 per cent. The chosen template determines the value.

How often do you train with 5/3/1?

The original basic structure is often organised across three or four days per week. In a classic four-day week, each session focuses on one of the four main lifts. Other official templates organise them differently.

What do 5+, 3+ and 1+ mean?

The plus sign means completing at least the prescribed repetitions and, when readiness and technique allow, more sound repetitions. It does not instruct you to reach absolute muscular failure every week.

When should the Training Max increase?

In the classic system, it typically rises by no more than 5 lb for the bench press and overhead press and 10 lb for the squat and deadlift after a completed cycle — commonly rounded to 2.5 kg and 5 kg.

Is 8/6/3+ part of Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1?

No. The 8/6/3+ approach is a separate, more hypertrophy-oriented progression option in the Coach Cedric Progression Builder. It is not an official Jim Wendler template.

Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 training: the system, Training Max and cycle explained

5/3/1 is Jim Wendler’s system for long-term strength training. Its working sets are not based directly on the heaviest weight ever lifted, but on a deliberately submaximal Training Max. Loading weeks, small planned increases and template-specific assistance work are built around that value.

The percentages below explain the classic basic wave. 5/3/1 has developed through several books and official templates, so this is not the only possible Wendler structure. A percentage table alone does not replace a complete programme.

What is 5/3/1 training?

5/3/1 combines a small number of major barbell lifts with intentionally gradual progression. Instead of testing a true maximum every session, you train with weights calculated from a lower working value. The aim is not one spectacular week, but many cycles of technically sound repetitions and sustainable progress.

Wendler introduced the central concept in 2009. Official versions have since been developed for beginners, strength, muscle growth and athletic development. The shared principles are to start realistically, train submaximally, avoid forcing progress and manage the whole programme appropriately.

The four main lifts

The classic base uses four lifts:

squat
bench press
deadlift
standing overhead press, often called the military press

In the original four-day structure, one lift is the focus of each training day. Other official templates combine two main lifts or organise the week differently, so the selected template remains decisive.

What is the Training Max?

The Training Max (TM) is the calculation base for the working sets. It is not automatically your current true 1RM and is not a weight you should try to lift maximally in each session.

Classic 5/3/1 commonly began with 90 per cent of a realistic 1RM. If the 1RM is 100 kg, that creates a 90 kg Training Max; the weekly percentages are calculated from 90 kg, not 100 kg.

Ninety per cent is not universal. Official Wendler templates also use 85 or 80–85 per cent depending on the programme and purpose. “Building the Monolith”, for example, recommends a conservatively selected 85 per cent, while the beginner template uses 80–85 per cent. A suitable Training Max keeps prescribed repetitions controlled. If repetitions become slow or technically poor, more weight is not automatically the right answer.

How a classic 5/3/1 cycle works

This table shows the widely used classic four-week wave. Every percentage refers to the Training Max. Warm-up sets and assistance work are not included.

Week	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Focus
Week 1	65% × 5	75% × 5	85% × 5+	sets of five
Week 2	70% × 3	80% × 3	90% × 3+	sets of three
Week 3	75% × 5	85% × 3	95% × 1+	5/3/1 week
Week 4	40% × 5	50% × 5	60% × 5	classic deload

Week 1 — sets of five

The working sets rise from 65 to 75 and 85 per cent of the Training Max. The last set requires at least five repetitions and may be used as a plus set for further sound repetitions in the classic version.

Week 2 — sets of three

The working sets use 70, 80 and 90 per cent. The last set calls for at least three repetitions.

Week 3 — 5/3/1 week

The last loading week combines five repetitions at 75 per cent, three at 85 per cent and at least one at 95 per cent — still calculated from the Training Max, not the true 1RM.

Deload or easier week

The classic version uses 40, 50 and 60 per cent for five repetitions. Its purpose is to reduce stress, not set a repetition record. Later programmes may organise deloads differently, so the 40/50/60 week is a classic option rather than an immutable rule.

Progressing from one cycle to the next

After a completed classic cycle, the Training Max advances in small steps:

bench press and overhead press: no more than 5 lb
squat and deadlift: no more than 10 lb

Metric training commonly rounds these to 2.5 kg for upper-body lifts and 5 kg for lower-body lifts. The Training Max progresses; it is not recalculated from a new estimated 1RM after every good session. If the working value overtakes technically sound performance, reducing it is more sensible than forcing another increase.

What do plus sets mean?

5+, 3+ and 1+ mean reaching at least the stated repetition target and completing more technically sound repetitions when readiness allows. They can show repetition progress without testing a true 1RM.

A plus set is not the same as absolute muscular failure. Official examples explicitly advise against taking PR sets to failure, and beginner guidance rejects slow, grinding or technically poor barbell repetitions. Some templates omit plus sets entirely.

Assistance work depends on the template

5/3/1 is more than three percentages. A complete plan may include warm-ups, jumps or throws, supplemental main-lift work, assistance exercises and conditioning. The beginner template groups assistance work into push, pull and single-leg/core categories. Other official versions, including Boring But Big, add more volume with the main lifts. Assistance should support the main work rather than undermine it through unnecessary fatigue.

Calculate your 5/3/1 weights

The calculator combines the Training Max, percentages and practical rounding, then displays the classic wave from Week 1 through the deload.

The calculator is a calculation aid. It does not decide which template, Training Max or assistance volume is right for you.

5/3/1 and the Coach Cedric App Progression Builder

The Coach Cedric App uses the general idea of structured, cyclical progression and adds its own training options. Flexible muscle-growth training includes an 8/6/3+ approach: a week with targets of eight, a week of six and a heavier week of three, each with a possible plus set for the main exercise.

This hypertrophy approach is an app-specific progression option, not an official Jim Wendler template. “Progression Builder” describes the Coach Cedric product and must not be confused with Wendler’s original system.

Summary

5/3/1 is not one rigid percentage table but a strength-training system developed over many years. Five points define the classic foundation:

The main lifts are the squat, bench press, deadlift and overhead press.
Percentages are calculated from a submaximal Training Max.
Ninety per cent is a classic starting value, but not the only value used across every template.
Plus sets allow further sound repetitions but do not require absolute failure.
Small, planned Training Max increases matter more than constant maximum testing.

Choose a complete template and its Training Max guidance first. Calculate the working weights afterwards, not the other way around.